Education, Diversity, and Multiculturalism

USF Course Code: EDF 4909

Prerequisite: none; taught in English.

Students: ISA students 

Contact hours: 45

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I. Course Description:
This course examines the impact of age, gender, race, ethnicity, origin, social class, religion, language and other aspects of social identity on the teaching / learning process. Migration flows have turned any classroom into a meeting point of cultures. Students will make a key practical approach in their professional development. 

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II. Learning objectives:

-To raise awareness on multicultural education components.
-To critically reflect about diversity and the impact in societies, both in America and Europe, and schools.
-To identify key components of social, political and economic issues affecting educational practices.
-To provide students with theoretical tools and examples for teaching practice in a multicultural educational reality.
-To analyze various individual realities and how they affect the performance of a class or group.
-To put into perspective the new ways of applied multicultural education.

Experiential learning component: 
-    Students are offered to collaborate in an NGO or School for at least 2 hours per week. 

Schoology will be the primary website used to facilitate this course. Students will have access the first day of the course.

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III. Course contents (order of content may be modified):

PART I – MULTICULTURAL EDUCATIONAL SYSTEMS

UNIT 1: Introduction. General Concepts: The brain. The body. Humankind. Cultures.

UNIT 2: Identity, Society, Culture. Competences / Intelligences. Languages and Communication. 

UNIT 3: Communication. Interpersonal and intrapersonal communication. Communication between/among cultures. Stereotypes. 

UNIT 4: What is multicultural education? Types of multiculturalism. Socio-demographic, economic and technological imperatives for intercultural education. 

UNIT 5: Education. Educational Systems. Models: Approach, method, techniques.

PART II – EDUCATION AND OPPORTUNITIES 

UNIT 6: Dimensions of diversity: gender, age, ethnicity, capabilities, nationality, geographic variants, income, health, physical appearance, pigmentation. 
Education for diversity in the national curriculum (Spain).

UNIT 7: New and classic models. Roles in the community. 

UNIT 8: Cross-cutting education: Consumerism, environmental awareness, health education, sexual education, road-safety education, peace education. 

UNIT 9: Diversity and its impact on education and society. Social class. Native language. Disability. Special needs. 

UNIT 10: Technology and education. New models and approaches. E-Learning. MOOCs and COILs.

PART III – MULTICULTURAL CLASSROOM AND WORKSPACE

UNIT 11: Differences and their impact on the curriculum

UNIT 12: Scheduling and lesson planning. The multicultural classroom management.     

UNIT 13: The multicultural workplace. 

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IV. Bibliography: Compiled by lecturer

Complementary bibliography: In addition to journal articles, students will receive a selection of material from the following sources:

Bennett, C. (1995). Comprehensive multicultural education: Theory and practice (3rd ed.). Massachusetts: Allen & Bacon.

Fred Schultz, Ed. (2010) Annual Editions: Education, 01-02 (28th edition). Guilford, CT:
McGraw-Hill/Dushkin. 

Gary Fenstermacher & Jonas Soltis (1999) Approaches to Teaching (3rd edition). New York: Teachers   College Press. 

Chandler, Daniel Technological or Media Determinism.  http://www.aber.ac.uk/media/Documents/tecdet/tecdet.html

Graham, E. L. (2002). Representations of the post/human: monsters, aliens and others in popular culture. New Brunswick, New Jersey: Rutgers University Press.

Grant, C., & Sleeter, C. (2006). Turning on learning: Five approaches to multicultural teaching plans for race, class, gender, and disability. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

Gorski, Paul C. (2001) Understanding the Digital Divide from a Multi cultural Education Framework.. The Multi cultural Pavilion. On-line: http://www.edchange.org/multicultural/net/digdiv.html 

Hilliard, A. & Pine, G. (1990, April). Rx for Racism: Imperatives for American's schools. Phi Delta Kappan, (593 - 600).

McLaren, P. L. (1994). Revolutionary multiculturalism. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.

Ng-A-Fook, Nicholas (2012) Living a Curriculum of Hyph-E-Nations: Diversity, Equity, and Social Media. Multicultural Education Review, Vol. 4, No. 2, pp. 91-128

Kassimeris, K. (2011) The Politics of Education. Challenging Multiculturalism. Routledge. 

Rosenblatt, LaurieAnne (2004) Please Check Your Baggage: Considering Cultural Biases and Critical Issues in the Adult ESL Classroom when Using Computer Technology. Critical Multicultral Pavilion. On-line: http://www.edchange.org/multicultural/papers/biases_esl.html

Spring, Joel (2000) The Intersection of Cultures: Multicultural Education in the United States
and the Global Economy (2nd edition). New York: Mc-Graw-Hill, 2000. 

Spring, Joel (2004) How Educational Ideologies are Shaping Global Society. Mahwah, N. J.: Lawrence Erlbaum.

Vavrus, M. (2002). Transforming the multicultural education of teachers: Theory, research, and practice. New York: Teachers College Press.

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V.I. How to succeed in this course
To successfully complete this course, attendance is essential as enables the necessary participation. Both spontaneous and prepared interaction are categories used in the evaluation.

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VI. Grading scale
Final grades will be calculated according to the following scale:

Grading Scale (%)

94-100	A
90-93	A-
87-89	B+
84-86	B
80-83	B-
77-79	C+
74-76	C
70-73	C-
67-69	D+
64-66	D
60-63	D-
0-59	F

Grade dispute: 
The deadline for claiming grades is 30 days from the receipt of the certificate at the university of origin.

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VII. Course policies

VII.I. Attendance
Class attendance is mandatory and is taken every class day and reflected in the course attendance sheet. 
An 85% attendance rate is required for the successful completion of the course. Perfect attendance will be taken positively into account in the participation section. 
If a student exceeds this limit, 1 point will be taken off of the final grade (Spanish grade). Reaching a 20% of unexcused absences means that the transcript for this subject will show “not attended course”. 
Excused absences: Medical Certificates that will be considered only if issued by a physician (not notes from the family explaining the student’s absence). The certificates must include the exact dates for which a student should be excused for having missed classes. Courses cannot be audited, so attendance is possible only for students enrolled in a specific class. 
Punctuality: Students are expected to arrive on time to class and to return directly to class after class breaks. Arriving 10 minutes late (or more) and/or early class departures are considered unexcused absences and will be taken into account as half an absence. 
 
Attending class is not only the presence in the classroom. The professor will encourage active participation in the course and it will be taken into account as part of the evaluation.  

Auditors: Courses cannot be taken as auditors, thus attendance is possible only for students enrolled in a specific class.

VII.II. Conduct in class
Students who actively participate in classroom activities and who maintain a professional and respectful attitude will be evaluated positively. Students must not eat or use laptops during the class (unless specifically authorized by the teacher).  

VII.III. Late work 
One half point will be taken off (from the learning activities grade) for homework that is submitted late repeatedly. Late assignments will be corrected but will not be graded. 
Missing a class does not release the student from completing the homework assigned or studying the topics covered in class that day.

VII.IV. Make-up Exams
If a student cannot be present for an examination for a valid reason (see V.II.) and approved by the professor and academic direction, a make-up exam will be given.

VII.V. Exam retention
After exams are graded, the teacher will review the examination with the class and collect all exams. The exams will be retained for one semester following the current one, and then they will be destroyed.

VII.VI. Academic Honesty
Students are expected to act in accordance with their university standards of conduct concerning plagiarism and academic dishonesty.

VII.VII. Special accommodations 
Students with special needs who require reasonable accommodations, special assistance or specific aid in this course (either for properly making-up classes, taking exams, etc.) should direct their request to Academic Coordination during the first days of the course.

Teaching staff is required to report any disclosures harassment or violence of any kind.